ACI Worldwide Helping to Build New Rwandan Card Payments Network; ACI Software to Drive State-of-the-Art Transaction Network in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Business Editors

OMAHA, Neb.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 30, 2004

ACI Worldwide (Nasdaq:TSAI), a leading international provider of enterprise payment solutions, today announced that SIMTEL, an organisation set up by the Rwandan government to modernise the national payments network, has chosen ACI's BASE24-es(TM) as the foundation for The Republic of Rwanda's new national inter-bank card payments network. SIMTEL is also implementing the ACI Card Management System(TM) for the management of card accounts and personalisation. ACI software will provide a flexible framework for card transactions and promote the use of cards to Rwanda's unbanked population.

The creation of a network for card payments and cash withdrawals from ATMs will benefit Rwanda's economy, banks and consumers. "A national card payments infrastructure is essential to the economic reform of the Republic of Rwanda," said Francois Kanimba, Chairman of SIMTEL. "SIMTEL has been working closely with ACI and Visa to ensure the new network will meet our country's economic needs today and in the future."

BASE24-es will enable SIMTEL to acquire, authenticate, route, switch and authorise card transactions on behalf of the commercial banks in Rwanda. BASE24-es is powered by an intelligent scripting engine that enables users to change the rules governing authentication and authorisation without having to write new source code. The result is a flexible solution with the fault-tolerance and reliability for which ACI software is known.

Rwanda's new BASE24-es infrastructure, integrated with the ACI Card Management System, will initially support the issue of Visa Smart Debit and Credit (VSDC) cards. A further phase will enable SIMTEL to issue and manage pre-authorised debit cards, compliant with Visa Horizon and VSDC standards. Pre-authorised debit(1) will allow SIMTEL to offer card services to people without an established credit history where online authorisation is not always possible.

Chris Winter, General Manager of Visa Sub-Saharan Africa, said, "Pre-authorised debit is an important financial service offering for the Republic of Rwanda and other similar emerging African countries as it offers greater risk management capabilities. This benefits the financial institutions without detracting from the consumer advantages of card payments. ACI appreciates this and is committed to supporting the Visa standards for pre-authorised debit, VISA Horizon and VSDC Plus."

"The scale and unique nature of the project with the Republic of Rwanda to modernise its payments infrastructure will give ACI a significant foothold in the African continent," said Jeremy Wilmot, general manager for Africa and Iberia, ACI Worldwide. "Working with partners such as Visa International, we hope to use this experience to aid other emerging countries."

"There will be a period of education for Rwandan card using consumers," said Roger Munyampenda, director general of SIMTEL. "We expect steady growth in transaction volumes as consumer demand rises. SIMTEL is confident that ACI's solution will accommodate this trend as the system is engineered for scalability. ACI's modular solution set for payment transactions allows SIMTEL to build infrastructure for future areas such as mobile commerce and the management of multiple application smart cards."

About ACI Worldwide

Every second of every day, consumers are initiating electronic payment transactions--getting cash at ATMs, using debit and credit cards to make purchases in stores and on the Internet, banking by phone and PC, and paying bills online. Over 40 billion times a year, ACI software is used to process these transactions, powering the world's online payment systems. ACI was founded in 1975 and pioneered the development of applications and networking software for online transaction processing. Today more than 500 customers in 74 countries use ACI supplied software.

ACI Worldwide has a full-service office in Johannesburg, South Africa, which is responsible for the sales, implementation and support of ACI products throughout the Sub-Saharan Africa and Indian Ocean Islands regions. In East Africa, ACI has a partnership agreement with Symphony Group, based in Nairobi, Kenya. Visit ACI Worldwide on the internet at www.aciworldwide.com.

About SIMTEL

The creation of SIMTEL was prompted by the Rwandan Government's objective to modernise the national payment system as part of the macro-economic framework reform. (Rwanda is located in east Africa with a population of nearly 8 million.) Funding is provided by the government, individual member banks and the World Bank. SIMTEL is a privately owned company, registered in April 2002 in Rwanda. Shareholders are made up of the National Bank of Rwanda (the Central Bank), and all six licensed commercial banks in Rwanda, as well as the Savings, Union Bank and the Post Office. As the main shareholder of SIMTEL, The Central Bank has demonstrated its support by extending and modernising its operational headquarters. The SIMTEL chairman, Mr. Francois Kanimba, is also the current Governor of the Central Bank.

About Visa International

Visa is the world's leading payment brand generating US$2.5 trillion in annual card sales volume. Visa has unsurpassed acceptance in more than 150 countries. The Visa organization plays a pivotal role in developing innovative payment products and technologies to benefit its 21,000 member financial institutions and their cardholders. Visa is a leader in Internet based payments and is pioneering the creation of u-commerce, or universal commerce--the ability to conduct commerce anywhere, anytime, and any way. For more information, visit www.corporate.visa.com.

Notes to editor:

1. Pre-authorised debit allows the reservation of funds on a bank account purely for use on a payment card in an off-line environment. The consumer can use the card up to a pre-defined value and the transaction will be authorised off-line through the intelligence held on the chip. By adopting this approach, credit risk is virtually eliminated for the issuer because all off-line spending on the card is pre-authorised and covered by funds held on the account. It also makes it viable to issue cards to customers who have a poor credit record, or little or no banking history, encouraging a less cash dependant society. ACI's Card Management System solution manages the shadow account linked to a pre-authorised debit card, providing a record of the consumer spending on the card and tracking the remaining amount of reserved funds.

-- BASE24-es and the ACI Card Management System will be

implemented on an IBM AIX platform at the SIMTEL offices in

Kigali, Rwanda's capital city. ACI will be aided in

implementation and post implementation support by Symphony, a

Nairobi based IT group.

-- Once BASE24-es and the ACI Card Management System are

implemented, the next phase for SIMTEL is to add advanced

transaction functionality to its ATM network to enable Rwandan

consumers to pay utility bills at ATMs. ACI will authorise and

route the bill payment transactions through BASE24-es. Banking

customers will benefit from an improved customer experience

and result in more effective channel utilisation for SIMTEL.

Any statements in this press release regarding projected results are preliminary and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In addition, this press release may contain other forward-looking statements including statements regarding Transaction Systems Architects, Inc.'s ("TSA"), its subsidiaries or third parties' expectations, predictions, views, opportunities, plans, strategies, beliefs, and statements of similar effect. The forward-looking statements in this press release are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially.

For a detailed discussion of these and other risk factors, interested parties should review the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's Form 10-Q filed on May 15, 2003, the Company's Form 10-Q filed on August 14, 2003, the Company's Form 10-K filed on December 23, 2003, and the Company's Form 10-Q filed on February 17, 2004.